3/25-28/97 I went up to the property for 4 days: Tuesday through Friday.

It was a beautiful day. There had been no new snow and I didn't have to do any shoveling. I got up to the property about 10:30 and after moving in, I hauled quite a bit of yard waste to the compost pile. After that I measured the height of all the walls so I could determine the log diameters I would need. During lunch, I used these measurements to decide what log to go after for the fourth course. I will do this on each even numbered course to keep the walls more or less level and even with each other. I decided to go after log #32 which I had previously uncovered. I spent the afternoon pulling this log out of the pile and halfway up the hill. It was a big heavy log and I had quite a bit of trouble getting it up there. The snow was real soft and heavy and I had to double block the rigging a couple times. I decided that from now on, it will save time if I cut the big logs up into the sizes I need before I lift them up. That should save time because it is so much easier to lift smaller logs than the great big ones.

I got a little careless and fell twice. I think it was because I was pretty tired. Fortunately, I didn't get hurt, although I could have. The first time, I was on a steep slope in heavy brush carrying a chain and a pretty heavy snatch block. I noticed that my foot was loosely tangled in a rope but instead of untangling it, I just kept walking but looking back at my foot with the intention of pulling it out of the rope tangle with the next step. Since I wasn't looking where I was going, my other foot tripped on some brush and I fell face forward straight down the hill. There were a lot of rocks exposed where I was, but fortunately when I did my chin plant, I planted it in snow so I didn't get hurt.

The second time was when I was walking on log #32 and slipped. There was bark on most of the log and that provided good traction, but there were a couple of spots where the bark was gone. The log was soaking wet so when I hit one of those spots, my foot instantly slipped out from under me and I landed flat on my back on the log. Again I was lucky I wasn't hurt. I made a point to be a lot more careful from then on.

Wednesday was another beautiful day. I finished pulling #32 up onto the roadway and proceeded to remove the bark with a spud. This was hard work and took me until noon. I spent the afternoon gwizzing log #32. I was a little better than half done by 5:40 when it started raining so I quit for the day.

On Thursday I finished gwizzing log #32, cut it to length for the first section I needed, treated this section with Penetreat, spiked it into the southeast wall, cut the next section to length, and treated it.

On Friday morning it was snowing and there was just a skiff of snow on the ground. I got the second section of log #32 up and spiked into the southeast wall by noon. By that time, it was snowing heavily, there was about 3 inches accumulated and I was soaking wet and cold. I decided to have lunch and then leave for home.

By the time I finished lunch, it had stopped snowing and the sun was shining. It was so gorgeous out that I decided to stay and go back to work. I cut the third section of #32 to length, treated it, and got it up and spiked into the southwest wall. By then it was 3:30 so I started packing up to leave. In the process, Earl Landin stopped by. He looked over the progress, we chatted for a while, and then he helped me carry my stuff to the pickup and I left for home.

The snow really melted fast this week. I had to continually change my footing over the trails I had established inside the building. In some places, the trail was on top of four feet of snow but this kept lowering as the snow kept shrinking. My access to the scaffold was from a snow trail that to begin with, was level with the scaffold. As the snow shrunk, the step from the snow to the plank kept getting higher and higher, until by the time I left, it was all I could do to make the step. In other places, I would break through the snow and fall up to my crotch. I learned not to step any place that didn't have a plank ramp directly under the snow. In several places, these planks became exposed and so I step on them in those places. It won't be long now and there won't be any snow inside the building. I will have to figure out some kind of ladder or staircase in order to get up to my scaffold.

As the snow recedes, it reveals some of the power of the shrinking snow. I had left the wooden funnel I used to pour concrete into the foundation, as well as a wooden form I planned to use for a column pad, laying out on the ground. Both of these became exposed this week and I saw that the snow had ripped them apart and flattened them both. I had also noticed earlier that the weight of the snow on my shelter inside the building site had crushed a concrete block that was supporting one leg of a scaffold frame that was holding up the shelter. Not only was the block crushed, but now that the leg was unsupported, the weight of the snow bent the steel scaffold frame. It is going to be some job straightening that frame out again. Also, the top of the lumber rack for the pickup is now peeking above the snow and I can see that it, too, is sprung from the weight of the snow. I hope that it isn't badly damaged. I will have to check it out when the snow melts down a bit further.

4/1-4/97 I went up to the property for 4 days: Tuesday through Friday.

The weather was beautiful and the snow was melting fast. It was no longer deep enough inside the building to provide me with a ramp up to the scaffolding, so I had to use a ladder instead. I cut two short logs to length to go between the front window frames and treated them with Penetreat. I spent quite a bit of time with them because they are important to keep the window frames plumb in both directions. I invented a sort of square-compass out of a carpenter's square and a small square lashed together. The short logs need to be exactly the right length and the ends must be exactly flat and parallel. After cutting one end of the log as flat and square with the log as I can, I then use my square-compass to mark the log all the way around where the next cut is to be made.

The spaces between the window frames is nominally 18 inches, but they vary by a little more than a sixteenth of an inch. That is why I made two to start with. The first one I made was a sixteenth too short, but it fit exactly into the third slot down. I then cut the second one to fit into the first slot. Before I quit for the day, I aligned the window frames so that they are exactly plumb in the wall direction, and braced them so that they would stay.

On Wednesday morning, I cut and treated the third short log. Then I spiked them in place on the fourth course between the window frames. The logs fit nicely and left the frames nice and plumb. I used the remnant of log #32 for one of these and the remnant of #36 for the other two. Next, I cut the remnant of log #43 to length, treated it, and spiked it into the end of the southwest wall next to the last window frame.

I spent the rest of the day getting log #93 pulled up to the roadway from the log pile.

The temperature stayed at about 40 degrees all night and on Thursday morning it was raining. I put on my rain gear and started gwizzing log #93. As soon as I cut into it I could see that it was bad. I cut the ends off to see the wood and the log has a one inch ring of black wood on the outside. I gwizzed wood like this off another log once before and it took a whole day, so I decided to set #93 aside and pull up another log.

I went after log #83 and had to use a hydraulic jack to get it loose from the log pile. Then when I got it part way up the cliff, it slipped off the log chute. I had to rig up a bunch of chains and a come-along and pull it back up onto the chute by hand. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time getting this log up onto the roadway.

The rain turned to snow about mid-day. It snowed the whole time I was gwizzing log #83, which I finished by the end of the day. There was a couple inches of snow accumulated by that time.

It was cold, about 25 degrees that night, but the sun came out and Friday was a beautiful, warm, sunny day. It was a real pleasure to work. I cut log #83 to length, treated it, and got it spiked into the northwest wall, to complete the fourth course, before lunch.

After lunch I started raising the scaffolding. I have decided to raise it every other course. If I waited another course, it would be to low to be able to drive in the spikes comfortably.

The scaffold, as it is, isn't quite finished according to plan. There were a couple planks that the plan called for that were buried under the snow and I decided to wait until the snow melted. Those planks are exposed now, and as I raise the scaffolding, I will use those planks and finish building it to the plan. I got a good start before I left for home. I built a new corner bracket for the south corner, and I raised the scaffold along the southwest wall. Once I get it built correctly, it shouldn't be too much of a problem to raise it. at least I hope not.

4/8-11/97 I went up to the property for 4 days: Tuesday through Friday.

Tuesday was a beautiful warm day. The snow was shrinking fast. I got about three quarters of the scaffolds raised.

Wednesday was another beautiful day. Even though the snow was melting fast, there was still at least two feet in the driveway. A year ago, I was driving the pickup up to the site with loads of sand and gravel. Quite a difference in snowfall.

By the end of the day, I had finished raising all the scaffolds and rebuilt the handrails. I also exchanged two planks with two that had been buried under the snow. This completes the scaffolding according to the original plan and it will make subsequent raisings easier. I also decided to raise the scaffolds every three courses instead of two. That will reduce the number of times I have to raise them. I will make a small riser to stand on when I drive the spikes into the third course.

Thursday was overcast and 38 degrees. I measured and inventoried several logs that had been exposed as a result of taking logs during the winter and as a result of snow melt. Then I pulled log #114 up to the roadway. I gwizzed half of it and then gave up on it. It had 1" ring of bad black wood all around it and by the time I gwizzed it off, the diameter was too small for what I wanted.

Instead, I cut log #61 to length. I had gwizzed this log previously and it was lying on the roadway. I then treated #61 with Penetreat and raised it and spiked it into the southeast wall.

Friday was a record breaking day; it was the first time I had gotten a log from the log pile and spiked it into the hardest (northeast) wall in a single day. Everything about it worked smoothly. I pulled up log #120 without a hitch. I had to spud the bark off, but it was loose and easy to do. I used a sprayer that I had just bought to apply the Penetreat and that worked much faster than brushing. And raising and spiking the log went smoothly as a result of the practice that I had had by then. Log #120 was spiked into the northeast wall by about 6:00 PM and within a half hour I was on my way home.

4/15-18/97 I went up to the property for 4 days: Tuesday through Friday.

The snow was melting fast although there was still a couple of feet of it in the driveway so I am quite a ways away from being able to drive the pickup up to the trailer. I went up and checked the spring for the first time since Fall. There was a little leaf and twig debris in it, which I cleaned out, but otherwise it was in good shape. The screen on the overflow pipe is beginning to show signs of age so I am going to have to start thinking of replacing it.

I cut log #83 to length and had just finished treating it when Larry Copenhaver stopped by for a visit. When he left at 3:30, it started raining. I pulled log #83 up and spiked it into the northwest wall in the rain. After that, I dismantled the last of the old tall tripods. It was getting to be an eyesore. The deep snow had broken two of its poles so it was time to put it to rest.

On Wednesday, the rain had stopped. I pulled log #63 up the hill and noticed a couple guys in a pickup watching me. I called down and invited them up. They came up and I gave them a demonstration of the Log Wizard. Their names were Ed Smith and Glenn something (I didn't catch Glenn's last name). Ed was interested in getting a Log Wizard but I couldn't find the company address or phone number. I promised to bring it with me next week and give it to him.

After they left, it started raining again. I finished spudding and gwizzing #63 cut it to length, treated it, raised it, and spiked it into the southeast wall in the rain. Then I pulled log #98 up the hill and spudded it.

On Thursday, I Gwizzed #98, cut it to length, treated it, and spiked it into the northwest wall before lunch. Afterwards, I cut another remnant of log #83 to length, treated it, and spiked it into the southwest wall. Then I cut, treated, and spiked in three short logs between the front windows. Before I quit for the day, I repaired some loose wiring on Oscar.

On Friday, I Gwizzed log #37. This one had been lying up on the roadway for a long time and it looked like a really bad log. After gwizzing it, it turned out to be a beautiful sound log with an interesting burl-like grain around a huge scar in the log. I think I am going to try to put this somewhere at eye level in the living room or the dining room.

I cut the small end of log #37 to length, treated it, and spiked it into the southwest wall thus completing the fifth course of logs. Then before I went home, I cut the rough notch for the living room window into the southeast wall. By then it was 5:30.

4/20/97 Made 4 window frames and a log lifting harness.

4/22-25/97 I went up to the property for 4 days: Tuesday through Friday.

On the way up, I bought a sack of Tim-Bor. It is essentially the same chemical treatment as Penetreat, but for some reason, Wood Care Systems, where I bought it, no longer carries Penetreat. I got up to the property at 12:30. I hauled the window frames and the log harness up to the site and then finished up the notch for the living room window. Then I installed the living room window frame.

On Wednesday, I pulled log #55 up to the roadway and started gwizzing it. Somewhere along the line, I hurt my wrist and I could hardly use my right hand. I didn't like the looks of #55. It had a bad wormy spot and the diameter was too small for what I wanted. After gwizzing half of it, I gave up on it and pulled log #101 up to the site. I got about three quarters of it gwizzed before the end of the day. I felt a lot better about this log. It had better wood than #55 although it wasn't very straight.

On Thursday morning my right hand was so stiff that I couldn't close it. In fact I couldn't bend my fingers without pain. I slowly bent all the fingers down with my left hand and gradually the stiffness relaxed some. I found that I was able to handle the chainsaw, so I finished gwizzing log #101. Then I cut it to length, treated it with a mixture of the last of the Penetreat and some Tim-Bor, lifted it, and spiked it into the northeast wall. My spirits were a lot higher than they had been the day before, and my right hand was almost back to normal by 7:00 PM when I quit for the day.

On Friday, I cut the remnants of logs #114 and #104 to length, treated them, and spiked them into the house. Log #104 went into the northwest wall and #114 went into the southeast wall. I had previously gwizzed only half of #114 and it was this half that I used. After that, I cut the notches for the bedroom window and installed the bedroom window frame. By then it was 5:15 and time to go home.

4/29-5/2/97 I went up to the property for 4 days: Tuesday through Friday.

I got up there about noon, and after moving in, pulled log #99 up to the site and gwizzed it.

It started snowing at about 7:00 Wednesday morning. About 2 inches accumulated but then the snow turned to rain and by the end of the day, the new snow was gone. It made working a little sloppy, though. I cut two segments of log #99 to length, treated them, and got them into position on the southeast wall, but not spiked in. Just as I was finishing my lunch, Larry Copenhaver and Dick Woodcock stopped by. After visiting in the trailer over cocoa and hot spiced cider, we went out and had the grand tour of the project. Dick cautioned me that it might be risky to leave chainsaws out where vandals can find them. He caused me to think, and I think I will lock them up after this even though I have had no evidence of vandalism at all so far.

After they left, I cut a remnant of log #39 to length, treated it, and placed it in the southeast wall.

On Thursday morning, I spiked in the three logs I had placed on the walls the day before. I then cut a remnant of log #61 to length and treated it. It has a fairly big rotten spot in the middle of it around a deep check so I filled the rotten cavity with a lot of the Tim-Bor and left it to soak in.

Then I pulled log #28 up to the site and spudded it before lunch. My log inventory spreadsheet proved to be very useful in selecting this log. I needed a log that was at least 22 feet long, but I didn't want to use one that was 33 feet, or longer, because I need those for the long walls. The spreadsheet showed very quickly that there was only one candidate: log #28. It took me two passes to find the log in the pile, but I did find it. It was the perfect log for what I needed.

After lunch, I gwizzed log #28, cut two segments of it to length, and treated them. Then I got one of the segments up on the northwest wall and the other one on the southwest wall but not spiked in.

On Friday, I spiked the two segments of #28 into the walls. Then I made three small logs for between the front windows, treated them, and spiked them into the southwest wall. After that, I had time to get a good start in making the notch for the dining room window before I left for home.

5/6-9/97 I went up to the property for 4 days: Tuesday through Friday.

The weather was overcast and it rained off and on. I got up to the property at about 11:30. I drove the pickup up to the trailer for the first time since winter. I finished making the notch for the dining room window, made a riser to place on the scaffold so I could reach one log higher, installed the dining room window, and made the kitchen window notch. In the process, I mashed my thumb but not too badly. It was bound to happen sometime during the project.

The next three days were beautiful clear sunny days. On Wednesday I installed the kitchen window frame, pulled log #72 up on deck, spudded it, gwizzed it, cut it to length, and treated it. Before I quit for the day, I measured and inventoried some more logs that had been exposed on the pile.

On Thursday, I lifted log #72 up onto the northeast wall and spiked it in. I also cut, treated, lifted, and spiked an unknown log remnant into the southeast wall. Then I pulled, gwizzed, cut, treated, lifted, and spiked log #122 into the northwest wall. After quitting for the day, I put the screens back on the windows in the trailer so I can open the windows and keep the mosquitos out. The big mosquitos are out now, but they are slow and don't bother very much.

On Friday, I pulled log #112 up on deck, gwizzed it and cut it into three pieces. Just as I was getting ready to treat them, Larry Copenhaver stopped by for a visit and to give me a Sunset magazine with some log home ideas in it. When he left, I decided to prepare a 4th log, from a remnant of log #104, before I treated the first 3 pieces. When it was cut, Jean Metzger stopped by for a visit and a look around the building site. She said she would send her husband, Harry, over to see the project some time when he was up to their place during the week.

After she left, I treated, lifted, and spiked into the building the four log pieces I had prepared. Log #104 went into the southwest wall, and the three pieces of #112 went into the southeast wall.

About that time, I realized that I was running short of one length of rebar spikes and that I had better get an order in so that I could pick it up next week. I had done the math to figure out how many of each I would need but I needed the counts of spikes I had left to plug into the formula. I hurried up and counted the spikes at the site and in the pickup and went into the trailer and did the calculations. In the process I discovered and fixed a math error and by the time I called the order in, it was 4:45 PM. Tom Doss, the salesman, had already gone home by then but I left a voice mail order that he won't get until Monday morning. I hope that will be time enough so that I can pick them up Tuesday morning. We'll see.

5/13-16/97 I went up to the property for 4 days: Tuesday through Friday.

On the way up, I picked up a load of rebar spikes at Graham Steel. I got up to the property at about 11:45 and the temperature was already about 85 degrees. Summer weather is definitely here. The first thing I did after moving in was to de-winterize the trailer. I also brought clean sheets with me because now that I will be able to shower, I will be clean before I go to bed. What a relief.

Next, I took the chain saw into the woods, and cleared all the downed trees and branches away from the hose. Quite a bit of stuff had fallen on the hose, and although it got pinched quite a bit, the flow hadn't completely stopped. I wanted to get the hose cleared before the brush grew too thick and the mosquitoes got too thick as well.

When that was done, I decided to try to rig a tram type of arrangement to haul the rebar from the pickup up to the building site. The upper roadway is full of logs so I can't easily drive the pickup up to the site, and there was about 670 lb. of rebar in the pickup so I didn't really want to haul it up by hand. The main reason, though, is that I have been thinking about how I will get the rafters and floor joists up to the site later on and trying a tram on the rebar will be good practice.

I managed to haul a 200 lb. bundle of rebar up using the tram, but from the number of trips I made up and down the cliff to set the rigging and move the load, it would have been a lot easier to carry the rebar up by hand. I gave up on the tram and unloaded the rest of the spikes up near the trailer. I will carry the spikes up in small bundles as I make the trip up the hill for other reasons.

The experiment was worth it though, because I learned some things that will help me haul joists and rafters. The main thing I learned, was that the overhead cable needs to be a lot tighter than I had it for the rebar. Another thing is that I need to figure out a better way to hold the load and reconnect Oscar's hook after letting Oscar's chain out. By the time I am ready for rafters, I will have it figured out.

That evening, I took the first shower in the trailer for the year. As I knew it would, it felt GREAT!

On Wednesday morning, I pulled up and gwizzed logs #24 and #67. By noon, the temperature was 80 degrees - a little milder than the day before. In the afternoon, I cut and treated 7 pieces from logs #24 and #67.

On Thursday morning, I raised and spiked the 7 log pieces into the building. Log #24 went into the southwest wall, and #67 went into the northwest wall. That completed the seventh log course and I now needed to raise the scaffolds by three courses. The temperature only got up to 55 degrees, which is the perfect temperature for working for me.

I noticed that a hornet had started making a nest in the ceiling of the privy. I waited until evening to blast it with bee and hornet killer.

In the afternoon, I started raising the scaffolds and finished about 3/4 of them.

On Friday morning, I finished raising the scaffolds and started getting ready to leave for home around noon because Ellen had taken the day off. I needed to put the lumber rack on the pickup because I needed to get some long 2x4s to brace three of the scaffolds. The front wall with all the window frames and the northwest wall near the back door are not strong enough to hold the scaffold up without pulling the wall out of alignment. I knew this might happen, so I designed the scaffold frames to accommodate a bracing 2x4 that reaches the ground. Those 2x4s are what I need to get.

When I tried to mount the lumber rack on the pickup, I discovered that the snow had severely bent the rack and it took me until 2:00 to straighten it enough to get it on the pickup. The hardest part was bending a 2"x3"x1/8" tab of steel back to its original position. The snow had bent this tab 90 degrees. Amazing!

When the rack was fixed and installed, I left for home.

5/19/97 Made 3 window rough opening frames for the northeast wall.

5/20-23/97 I went up to the property for 4 days: Tuesday through Friday.

I arrived at about 11:30 and brought along the three window frames and some long 2x4s. I used the 2x4s to brace the scaffold frames where the wall was too weak to hold fast. I used a pipe clamp to force the brace to extend so as to true up the wall. This worked better than I would have expected.

On a sadder note, a little yellow bellied bird had evidently tried to fly through the privy window but instead broke his neck. His little body was lying on the ground below the window. On a brighter note, there were some rather big deer tracks up by the privy, so the deer are still visiting occasionally.

Priscilla and Herb stopped in for a visit about 3:30. They saw what I have been doing, collected some pine cones, and took some pictures. We had a real nice visit. They left a little after 5:00. After they left, I took the lumber rack back off the pickup.

On Wednesday, I cut three notches in the northeast wall and installed the 3 window frames. After that, I pulled logs #56 and #66 up on deck. Before I quit for the day, I shoveled some of the chips over the cliff. I have decided to dispose of them that way because they are accumulating too fast to be able to wheel them away and I can't figure out any good way to get them to someone who has horses who could use them. I mentioned it to Larry Copenhaver and maybe he can think of a way to take them off my hands.

On Thursday morning, I measured the elevations on the walls so I can figure out what diameter logs I need. When that was done, I pulled log #60 up on deck.

I gwizzed logs #56 and #60 before lunch and #66 after lunch. I then cut logs #60 and #66 into 8 pieces and it was time to quit for the day.

On Friday, it started raining at 6:30 AM so I put a tarp over part of the roadway where I was working. I cut log #56 into 3 pieces and I cut 1 piece from the remnant of log #37. There were now 12 pieces ready and I treated them all with Tim-bor. The rain quit at about 10:30, just as I finished treating the logs. I got all 12 log pieces in place in the walls, but I didn't drive in the rebar spikes. Every log piece is spiked into at least one window frame, so they won't move until I can get them spiked down. I left for home at about 3:45.

5/27-30/97 I went up to the property for 4 days: Tuesday through Friday.

I left Seattle late because Ellen had taken the day off. I got up to the property about 5:30 PM. It was raining lightly but it stopped after dinner and I went up and raised the boom control cleat. It needs to be raised every other time I raise the scaffolds in order to be within reach.

On Wednesday, I spiked in the 12 logs that I had placed on the walls the previous week. Then I pulled logs #92 and #111 up on deck, spudded them, and gwizzed them. Larry Copenhaver stopped by and looked over my progress. When he left, I gwizzed log #106. That log had been lying up on deck since wintertime.

On Thursday I cut #92 and #111 into 5 pieces, treated them, raised them, and spiked them into the walls. Then I cut log #106 to length just as Earl Landin came by. He looked over the project and we had a nice chat. He is going to see if he can get someone interested in taking some of my wood chips off my hands. There is quite a pile of them now and Earl says that they will attract carpenter ants.

It was raining Friday morning but I got an early start and cut and treated 3 logs. I got them raised and placed in the walls but not spiked in with rebar. I harvested a small log from the woods and cut it to shape for a part of a crane boom abutment that I plan to make. After one or two more log courses, I need to raise the crane by 8 or 10 feet. In order to do that, I need to make an abutment for the boom that will be attached to the log wall. I have been drawing plans for the thing, and now this weekend I hope to begin making it. I loaded the log part into the pickup so I can work on it at home. It was still raining at 3:30 when I left for home.

6/1/97 Made a Crane Boom Abutment (CBA) for attaching the crane boom to the northeast log wall of the building in order to raise the crane.

6/3-6/97 I went up to the property for 4 days: Tuesday through Friday.

On Tuesday, I dismantled one of the old batterboard tripods to get some poles to use in mounting the new CBA. With these poles, I got the abutment assembly mounted on the log wall. I am pleased with the result and believe it will work. I didn't raise the boom yet because I wanted to spend time getting more logs up on the walls.

On Wednesday, I spiked in the 3 logs I had raised in place the previous week. In the process, the handle of the sledge hammer finally broke; I had missed the spike and come down hard on the handle one too many times. I had bought a new handle in anticipation, and it took me a couple of hours to get this new handle installed on the hammer. I also wrapped a turn of 16 gauge steel over a layer of rope around the handle right next to the head in order to protect the handle from hitting the rebar spikes.

When the spiking was done, I pulled logs #70, #84, and #91 up on deck. I was working on the 9th course which comes out even with the tops of the door and window frames. I chose logs that had a fairly big diameter so that they would come up even with the tops of the frames. I was pleased that I came up with a pretty good fit.

On Thursday, I gwizzed the three logs, and then found to my dismay that I couldn't start the new chainsaw. I had just gotten it out of the shop for a minor tune-up because it didn't run quite right, but now it wouldn't start at all. I had to swap out the gwizzard for a cutting bar in order to cut up the 3 logs into 7 pieces. When they were cut, I treated them with Tim-bor.

Before I went in for the night, I noticed that a colony of tiny ants was moving into my privy. These little guys were only about an eighth of an inch long. They were all taking exactly the same path from outside, up through a crack in the floor, up the wall, and into a crack under the ceiling. They seemed so excited as they carried their larvae up to their new home and they seemed so polite as they would run into each other as they were going in opposite directions. They would bump heads, pause momentarily as if greeting one another, and then pass and continue on their way. They seemed so happy and I felt like I could share their joy and excitement. I looked out the window of the privy at the forests on the other side of the valley and wondered how many more ant colonies were within the field of my view. Overwhelming.

On Friday, I raised and spiked in the 7 pieces of the 3 logs. Ed Smith and Marcia stopped by around noon, reviewed my progress, took the grand tour up to the spring. Ed also took a look at my saw and started the thing on the first pull. Now I don't know whether to take it back to the shop or what. It is exasperating to have it act intermittently like that. I left for home about 6:00 PM.

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